atching up with ChristieBagne isn’t easy. She’sconstantly on the move,“It’s been a tiring life, actually,”she laughs, “but this is all a veryChristie-Scheduling activity, so itdoesn’t feel that bad.”“Christie Scheduling” largelyrefers to her two hobbies,horses and cars, both of whichconsume copious amountsof her time. Over the yearsshe’s done everything fromamateur horse training andhorse jumping competitionsto ice racing, autocross, trackevents, and now road racing.

When I spoke to her, the previous
few weeks had involved her
obtaining her SCCA Road Racing
novice permit and completing
her first two race weekends.

RACING TIME

As she transitions from track events, ice racing, autocrossing, and horses into
road racing and a career as an engineer for a major OEM, Christie Bagne
looks forward to a very, very busy future | WORDS Philip Royle | IMAGES Sean Rice

Then there’s work. Christie’s
currently navigating her way
through her first few years as a
TRACK engineer at General Motors;
this coming after a two-year stint at
Kettering University that involved
alternating between engineering
classes and a work program at Ford.

Then there’s the fact that Kettering
was her second time through higher
education, her first concluding
with a neuroscience degree..

I was exhausted listening
to what she’s been through
in the last few years. But,
taking a breath, I asked her
to start at the beginning.

“Living in Detroit, there’spretty much a car event everyweekend,” Christie explains ofher high school days in the late

2000s. “We would basically
go out, stand in a parking lot,
talk about cars for a few hours,
and then we’d get kicked out
for loitering and we’d go to
someone’s garage until 3 a.m.,
at which point we’d disconnect
our mufflers and things like that.

“I lacked sophistication atthe time,” she laughs whilelooking back at her high schoolyears, “but it was a good wayto start tinkering on cars andlearning basic maintenance.”Christie’s automotiveappreciation was undoubtedlya combination of living in MotorCity and having a motherand grandmother who wereenthusiasts, both owning olderCamaros. But when she went tocollege – the first time, earning aneuroscience degree – Christiewas suddenly thrust into aworld that lacked cars. “That’swhen I started a car club,” sheexplains. “There are a bunch of

IN STRIDE

Christie (ABOVE)
keeps her plate
full, from racing
in Spec Miata
to training and
competing with
her jumper
(RIGHT). It’s an
exhausting but
fulfilling lifestyle.

“It was a good wayto start tinkering oncars and learningbasic maintenance”CHRIS TIE BAGNE